Mixed Signals
by ghostel
Summary: tavros cant stop thinking abt vriska and tries to talk to her . she breaks his heart. she realizes she don fucked up and tries to fix it. fluff stuff happens.
1. I'm sorry for hating you

"UGH! WHY WON'T YOU JUST H8 ME ALREADY!?"  
Those words were all he could hear. It was 3 am, and he was sitting on his bed, staring outside at the rain falling hard. He had been sitting there for hours, just thinking to himself. How was he going to go to school on Monday? It was a Friday night and he only had one thing on his mind: Vriska.

He turned his attention to his phone, that of which was now buzzing. He checked it, it was a text message from his best friend, Terezi.

H3Y, BUDDY HOW 4R3 YOU HOLD1NG UP? :]

He never knew why she typed like that. Then again with his phone's keyboard not functioning properly, he could only type with inverted text. So he didn't fall too far from the weird typing tree.

uHH,, nOT DOING TOO GOOD,,, wHY? wHO TOLD YOU SOMETHING WAS UP

UH W3LL, K4RK4T S41D TH4T YOU W3R3N'T DO1NG SO HOT 1N CL4SS TOD4Y

oHH,,

H3 TOLD M3 1T W4S SOM3TH1NG W1TH VR1SK4? :/

uH,,, yEAH, UH,,, i MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE CONFESSED MY HUGE CRUSH FOR HER,,,

OHHHH… SH1T

OKAY W3LL TH4T W4S 4 SH1T 1D34

yEAH, i KNOW,,,

YOU KNOW HOW VR1SK4 1S 4 HUG3 B1TCH

SH3 WOULDN'T H3S1T4T3 TO BR34K SOM3ON3'S H34RT DUDE

i KNOW, bUT,,, i THOUGHT THAT i WAS DIFFERENT,,

WHY

SH3 N3V3R T4LKS TO YOU

sOMETIMES,, lIKE IN SCIENCE CLASS,,, sHE'S NICE TO ME,

TH4T'S B3C4US3 SH3 DO3SN'T W4NT TO G3T 1N TROUBL3

,,,

L1ST3N

1 TH1NK YOU SHOULD TRY TO FORG3T 4BOUT H3R

B3C4US3 1T WON'T H4PP3N, SORRY

,,,i GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT,,,

WH4T D1D SH3 3V3N S4Y TO YOU 4NYW4YS? YOU DON'T H4V3 TO S4Y 1T 1F YOU DON'T W4NT TO

,,,sHE ASKED WHY WON'T i JUST HATE HER ALREADY,,,

...OH SH1T

SOUNDS L1K3 4 H4T3CRUSH TO M3

OK LOOK, 1F YOU SMOOTHT4LK H3R TH3 R1GHT W4Y, 1 TH1NK THOS3 F33L1NGS COULD TURN… YOU KNOW… ROM4NT1C

yOU THINK SO?

Y34H, 1T'S WORTH 4 SHOT

dO YOU,,, hAVE HER NUMBER?

Y34H, BUT 1T'S 3 1N TH3 MORN1NG, DUD3

1 DON'T TH1NK SH3'D B3 UP

iT'S WORTH A SHOT, RIGHT?

1F YOU 1NS1ST :]

A few minutes passed, and finally he got a response again with Vriska's number. He stared down at it. Maybe she was sleeping… or maybe she wouldn't even respond? What if she sees it and she just ignores it?

Tavros sighed. I guess there's only one way to find out, right? This might be a stupid idea… but love makes people do stupid fucking things.

After finally gathering the courage to even enter the number into his phone, his shaky hands started typing away.

uHHH,,, hI, iS THIS vRISKA'S PHONE,,? tHIS IS tAVROS nITRAM, FROM SCHOOL,,,

aLTHOUGH i THINK YOU MOST LIKELY REMEMBER ME,,,

After pressing send, he quickly tossed his phone to the other side of his bed, bringing his knees up to his chest and staring at it. He sat there for a minute or so, then sighed at the lack of response. "I knew she wouldn't respond." He whispered to himself and went back to staring out his window. Another minute later, his phone buzzed. He assumed it was Terezi, asking for results. He opened up the new message.

...Hey nerd. What do you want? It's fucking really l8 at night.

He felt like his heart stopped and started up again. He smiled, but also felt a major burst of anxiety. Panicking, he quickly responded.

oH, YOU'RE AWAKE,,, uH, wELL,,, i JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT,,, eARLIER TODAY,,,

Today? What happened today.

dO,,, dO YOU NOT REMEMBER? wHEN i,,, uHM,,, CONFRONTED YOU DURING LUNCH,,,

...Oh… So YOU'RE that kid. Uhhhhhhhh, ok, what is there to talk about?

yOU,,, gOT REALLY UPSET,,, aND ASKED WHY COULDN'T i JUST HATE YOU ALREADY,,,

Ugh, yeah. Listen, 8uddy, don't get the wrong idea and think that I have a h8 crush on you or something. It's not like I like you, so let's just establish that right now.

,,, oH,,,

LOL, what, did you think I would actually ever fall for you? ::::) I'm Vriska Serket, not some loser cripple.

hEY,,, tHAT'S NOT VERY NICE,,,

"Uhh, that's not very nice", do you know how stupid you sound right now?

,,,i CAN'T REALLY,,, hELP THAT i LIKE YOU, i DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHY BECAUSE YOU'RE,,, sUCH A FUCKING BITCH

Woah.

yEAH i SAID IT, yOU'RE A HUGE BITCH AND i DIDN'T FUCKING ASK TO GET A CRUSH ON YOU BUT,, iT'S FUCKING STUPID BECAUSE WHENEVER i SEE YOUR FACE MY HEART RACES AND,, uHHH, mY BRAIN FEELS LIKE FUCKING JELLY,, iT'S NOT FAIR, i DON'T WANT TO LIKE YOU EITHER, sO i'M SORRY THAT A FUCKING LOSER LIKE MYSELF IS BOTHERING YOU

...Hey, look, I didn't…

yOU DIDN'T WHAT, hUH ? lOOK i KNOW YOU GO AROUND HURTING OTHER PEOPLE, i'VE HEARD THE STORIES, bUT i JUST,,, i DON'T KNOW WHY BUT i CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD OK?

...Do you...really think a8out me that much?

yES, i DON'T KNOW WHY i CARE ABOUT YOU SO MUCH,,,

...That's… That's weird.

hOW IS THAT WEIRD,

...8ecause nobody has ever liked me like that 8efore, it's usually to get with me 8ecause I'm popular or for sex.

wELL i DON'T CARE ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE THINGS, i JUST REALLY LIKE YOU AND CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU,

bUT IT DOESN'T MATTER, i'M JUST A FUCKING LOSER CRIPPLE ANYWAYS,,, }:(

Tavros, I take that 8ack. I'm... I'm sorry.

,,,yOU'RE SORRY?

Yes.

He stared down at his phone, confused. Did Vriska Serket just...apologize to him? Holy shit. He had to tell Terezi.

tEREZI,,,

WH4T

vRISKA RESPONDED,

W3LL? :/

sHE,,, sHE SAID SORRY

...HOLY SH1T R34LLY

D1D YOU R34LLY G3T VR1SK4 S3RK3T TO 4POLOG1Z3?

Taking a screenshot of his conversation with Vriska, he sent it to Terezi.

…

YOU C4LL3D H3R 4 B1TCH

yEAH,

N1C3 ON3 LOL

yEAH HAHA,,,

W3LL? WH4T 4R3 YOU W41T1NG FOR? WOO H3R

hOW,,?

1 DON'T KNOW 1'M B4D 4T ROM4NC3

JUST UHH… T4LK 4BOUT… STUFF YOU TH1NK SH3 L1K3S

i THINK SHE REALLY HAS THIS THING WITH,,, sPIDERS?

Y34H, TRY TO WORK W1TH TH4T

oKAY,,,

,,,i FORGIVE YOU,

What?

i SAID i FORGIVE YOU, vRISKA

Why?

bECAUSE i HAVE A FUCKING CRUSH ON YOU, dUH

Oh. Right. Uh, well...I've...never had someone actually forgive me 8efore after 8eing such a huge 8itch.

wELL i GUESS i'M THE FIRST HAHA,

I guess so. Hey, tell you what. May8e tomorrow, you and I can go hang out somewhere? May8e a cafe.

,,,lIKE A DATE,,? }:D

I...guess? If you want to call it that…

oH GOODIE,, hOW ABOUT CAFE aLTERNIA DOWN THE STREET FROM THE SCHOOL,,? i WORK THERE,,, sO i CAN GET DISCOUNTS,

You work?

yES, i DO,

Cool. How a8out we meet at… 10 AM?

sOUNDS LIKE A PLAN, vRISKA,,,

Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow...Tav.

oKAY, vRIS, }:)

I'm going to head to 8ed now. Goodnight. ::::)

gOODNIGHT, sWEET DREAMS, }:)

He locked his phone and fell onto his back, staring up at his ceiling. Oh my god. A date with Vriska Serket, and it took minimal effort too. Maybe she DID have feelings… No, no. Like she said, she'd never fall in love with a cripple like him. But, he can dream…


	2. A date?

He never remembered falling asleep. He woke up suddenly and jerked upwards, turning his head to look at his clock.

"SHIT! IT'S 9:20, I HAVE TO BE THERE SOON!" Tavros exclaimed in surprise, stumbling out of his bed and falling onto his face. "Fuck!" He sighed and crawled onto his wheelchair, then wheeled himself over to his dresser. He grabbed a shirt that read "I know H.T.M.L, How To Meet Ladies" and pulled it on. He grabbed a striped orange and gray sweatshirt and pulled that on as well, spraying some cologne on him to try to at least smell appealing. He looked down at his pantsless legs and groaned. Grabbing some black skinny jeans he flopped onto his bed and wiggled into them, climbing back onto his wheelchair afterwards. He pulled on some socks and put on his sandals, then grabbed his phone and wheeled out of his room. He moved to the bathroom, washing his face, putting on deodorant, brushing his teeth and fixing his hair. After 20 minutes or so of preparation, it was around 9:40 AM. He looked at his phone and saw a text from Terezi that he got last night, but he had already passed out before he got it.

H3Y HOW D1D 1T GO

T4V

4R3 YOU 4ND VR1SK4 G3TT1NG BUSY

4LR1GHT TH3N 1'LL T4LK 1N TH3 MORN1NG

GOODN1GHT

uH, sORRY rEZI,

bUT GUESS WHAT,

WH4T?

i GOT A DATE,

W1TH WHO? :?

vRISKA,

WH4T?!

yEAH, WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING AT THE CAFE i WORK AT,,,

D4MN T4V

YOU'R3 SMOOTH

i GUESS HAHA,

4LR1GHT, 1 WON'T HOLD YOU B4CK 4NY LONG3R

GO WOO TH3 G1RL! :D

i WILL! }:D

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and made his way out of his house, wheeling down his porch ramp and down the street. In just a few minutes, around 9:50 AM, he reached the cafe and wheeled inside. No sign of Vriska anywhere, so he got there earlier than her. Sighing with relief, he wheeled into a special handicap table and one of the workers strolled over to him.

"Hey, Tavros." The lisp of the boy standing there was recognizable anywhere.

"Hey, Sollux."

"Why are you here? You don't work today."  
"Oh! I'm here on a date." Tavros smiled.

"Ohoho, Tavros Nitram? On a date? Who's the lucky lady?"  
"Well, actually… It's Vriska. Vriska Serket."

"...The spider bitch?" Sollux raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"...Yes… I told her how I felt and-"

"Oh, I know, the whole school knows about that now."

"Damn it...Well, anyhow, I talked to her last night and we agreed to meet up here this morning."

"Well...Just be careful. You know who she is." Sollux nudged Tavros with his elbow.

"I know, I know! I'm sure I'll be fine. How does my hair look?" Tavros started to fuss with his hair.  
"Dude, don't turn into that. You look fine."

"Okay, okay… I'm just… Really nervous. I've liked her for a while and, I've always felt so nervous around her, I really want to impress her. Terezi says I have to 'woo her'."

"Well, if I were her, I would be wooed by you just being yourself. Don't try too hard, if she doesn't like you for who you are then she isn't worth it."

"I guess you're right...But still. At least I should look presentable."

"Well you look great. Try to stay confident, alright? You got this. Just call me over when you're ready to order." Sollux nodded to Tavros and Tavros nodded back, cueing Sollux to go back to his position behind the counter.

Tavros checked his messages, seeing that Karkat messaged him.

HEY. I HEARD YOU'RE ON A HOT STEAMY DATE WITH THE SPIDER BITCH.

dID tEREZI TELL YOU THAT?

YEAH.

wELL i'M JUST WAITING FOR HER NOW,,,

LET'S HOPE SHE DOESN'T STAND YOU UP OR SOMETHING.

THAT'D BE BAD.

hEY DUDE DON'T JINX IT,,, }:(

SORRY, SORRY. I'M HAPPY FOR YOU. JUST BE CAREFUL.

tHAT'S WHAT sOLLUX SAID,,,

OH. TELL SOLLUX I SAID HI.

oKAY,

ANYWAYS, I'M SURE YOU'RE GOING TO BE ASKED A LOT MORE ABOUT THIS HOT DATE. SO BE PREPARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. BECAUSE I **WILL** WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AFTER IT HAPPENS. KEEP US UPDATED.

i'LL MAKE SURE TO,

The bell to the front door of the cafe rang.

oH i THINK SHE'S HERE! }:D

OH COOL. GOOD LUCK.

tHANKS!

Tavros put his phone in his pocket and looked up. It had only been a few minutes. Walking into the cafe was Vriska Serket herself, her hair done back in a ponytail, with ripped skinny jeans and a leather jacket that says "bad bitch" on the back. Her shirt was some random band tee, and she wore these huge boots that could probably crush someone's head if she tried hard enough. She looked perfect. Tavros didn't find himself staring until finally he was caught out of his trance by Vriska.

"Hey, what are you staring at?" Vriska looked at Tavros in confusion, and pulled a chair over to the table.

"W-Wha huh? Oh. N-Nothing." He blushed and looked away for a second.

"Right. Well, sorry for being a few minutes late. Roommate was uh. I dunno. I just got caught up."

"Roommate?"  
"Yeah, I live with Kanaya. You know, the fashionista."

"Oh, right. She seems nice!"  
"She is, but she can be kinda bratty and immature. She's alright though."

Tavros smiled and nodded, but didn't know how to respond. There was an awkward silence, and Tavros looked over to the counter to Sollux for help. Sollux gave him a thumbs up for encouragement, and Tavros took a deep breath to calm down.

"You uh, look really pretty…" He spoke, his face a bit flushed.

"Oh, thanks. You don't look half bad yourself. Cute, kinda."

He wondered if she could hear his own heartbeat from across the table, because it definitely was pounding. Vriska Serket just called him cute. Fuck.

"Aw, I don't know.. I'm alright I guess. Nothing compared to you, though." Tavros gestured to Vriska.

"Don't be so low about yourself, you dress nice."

"Heh…"

Another awkward pause.

"...Sorry." Vriska broke the pause.  
"Huh?" Tavros' attention was brought back again.

"I said sorry. For, you know, basically saying I hate you. Because… I don't. I… have a problem having healthy positive interactions with people. So I just get people to hate me before I hate them, so I don't get hurt. So that nobody… has to deal with me." She looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with Tavros.

"Oh, I… It's okay… I'm sorry to hear that. If...you're willing to try and open up… I'm always willing to talk." Tavros smiled at her.

"Even after all the shit I've done to you?"

"Even after all of that."  
"...Thank you, Tavros."

"No problem, Vriska."

As if cued perfectly, Sollux strolled up to the table.

"Hello. Welcome to Cafe Alternia, thank you for deciding to stop by. What would you like?"

Tavros looked at Vriska. "You go first."  
"Alright… I'll have uh...a lemonade and a cake pop." Vriska shrugged. "Not sure what else to get."

"That's okay. Sollux, I'll just have a chai latte and a brownie!"  
The waiter wrote down the order then nodded to the two of them. "Alright, it should just be a few minutes."

Vriska and Tavros nodded in response then looked back at each other once the waiter was gone.

"I had always wondered why you were so mean to everybody." Tavros started. "I never did anything wrong, and yet...you always picked on me. Maybe even more than anybody else."

"Yeah.. It's some defense mechanism. Fuck if I know, I'm not a psychiatrist."

"Psychologist."

"Whatever, man." Vriska rolled her eyes.

"Well… at least I know you don't hate me now." Tavros flashed Vriska a weak smile. She gave him a smirk back.

"Yeah, well...Don't get your hopes up or anything about me liking you. We can just stay… er… friends." Vriska waved her hand as she talked, she didn't seem to want to say "friends" just yet.

"I can go with that!" Tavros nodded happily. "At least it isn't enemies. I don't like having enemies."

"I have lots of those. Doesn't bother me."

"I can tell."

Vriska shrugged. "What can I say? People love to hate me." She leaned back in her chair and smirked again.

"I don't like hating people. It's too mean-" Tavros was caught off guard by a sudden text. His phone vibrated in his pocket. "Oh jeez, I bet that's Karkat…"

"You can check it if you want. I ain't waiting on anybody." Vriska leaned back in her chair more and put her feet up on the table, in a crossed position.

"Alright.. He's probably just asking about how it's going."

"...Wait, you...told people about this? They know I'm with you?" Her chill nature was suddenly broken and her tone changed a bit.

"Y..Yes? Should I not have done that? What's wrong with it?"

"It's just.. Uhh.. I don't want anybody to know I'm here." Vriska avoided eye contact with Tavros.

Tavros felt his heart sink. He knew what was going on, she didn't want to be seen with him.

"...Is it embarrassing to be seen with me, Vriska? Is that what it is?" Tavros' eyebrows furrowed in confusion and frustration.

"No! It isn't that, it's-" Vriska took her feet off the table and got back into regular sitting position to explain herself, but was caught off."

"Don't lie to me! First you apologize, and you get my hopes up, and then you tell me you don't even want to be seen with me!? W-What's wrong with you? I don't care how much you're hurting inside, you don't have to hurt me too!" Tavros felt tears well up in his eyes, and Vriska could see them, her expression turned from slightly defensive to a look of shock and sadness.

"I'm done. I know I said I hate fighting, but I'm not going to try and waste my time with someone that can't.. Someone that can't even APPRECIATE ME!" Tavros' voice rose to more of a shout, and it made everybody in the cafe turn their heads to look at the scene.

"Tavros-"

"NO! Don't 'Tavros' me! I'm done with you, Vriska Serket! Just.. Just leave me alone!" Tavros immediately wheeled out of the cafe as fast as possible, leaving everybody, especially Vriska, speechless.


End file.
